Barney

He looked up as Toll came in, bag slung over his shoulder. He looked worn out.

"You good?" Barney asked him.

"I'm good," he answered, dropping his bag. He leaned his hands against the counter, looking down at the maps and other scribbled pieces of paper Barney had strewn about over the map. Barney surveyed him.

"You gonna be okay leaving her behind?"

"I have to be."

"She'll be fine," Barney reasoned, sticking his cigar back into his mouth. Yang came in next. Then Gunner. Caesar was not long after, and he looked like he was in a mood.

"What's going on, man?" Toll asked him, noticing as well.

"This shit is getting too hard," Caesar answered, dumping his bag onto the ground. "I don't know how much longer I can do it."

"Kids? Or Char?" Barney questioned.

"Both," Caesar answered. "I just keep thinking, what if I don't come back this time? Do I really want my kids to be fatherless?"

"You don't have to get on the plane," Barney pointed out. "Nobody is forcing you."

"I know, but this is who I am. This is what I've done for years. Char knew that when she married me. I'm just feeling pressure to stop, and I know I should stop, but damn...this is what I do best. I don't know how to be anyone else," Caesar finished. Barney reached to pat his shoulder as he went to join the others. He could hear Caesar and Toll talking some more behind him.

"How's it going, Yang?" he called, making Yang look at him.

"Fine."

Man of little words it seemed. It wasn't new. Barney sighed. He looked at his watch and frowned. Where the hell was Christmas?

Norah

Rose had kicked her one too many times. Norah was awake too early for her liking and was thirsty, so she went upstairs for some water. She pushed her hair out of her face as she went up the stairs. She tugged her navy tank top down, but it slid back up two inches in seconds (she blamed the dryer). She got herself a glass and poured water from the tap into it. She sipped and examined the back of her leg at the same time. She was pretty sure a bruise was forming from where Rose kept kicking it. She didn't think pajama pants versus short shorts would have made much of a difference unless she put padding around her legs next time.

She was a bit startled when Lee came around the corner at almost full speed. He was dressed in black cargo pants with a black t-shirt, and he was pulling on a black zip up light jacket.

"Hey," he said, surprised to see her. "Was there a blue moon last night?"

"No, why?"

"I never see you up this early," he answered, opening the fridge and pulling out water and some food in containers. Rupert had joined them at this point and stood there wagging his tail.

"Well, blink and you'll miss it," Norah retorted. She saw him look at her fully then, eyes flicking down to her exposed skin briefly, and she felt a bit of heat on her cheeks. He went to move to her right, and she moved at the same time, trying to get out of his way. They did that awkward left to right dance until Lee put his hands on her waist, picked her up, and moved her to the left before letting her go and continuing on with what he was doing. Norah felt flushed. Her skin burned slightly where his hands had been.

"All right," he said once he zipped up his last bag. "Don't burn the house down, okay?"

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically. She followed him out to the porch. "Seriously, though, where are you going?"

"No smoking in the house," he ordered.

"You didn't answer my question," she said. "Where are you going?"

"Business trip," he answered.

"Dressed like a ninja?" she asked, giving him a pointed look.

"I like black," he said with a shrug. "Goodbye, Norah." He was telling her he was done with the conversation and was leaving, but she felt like she wanted to ask him more questions.

"What about Rupert?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"I left you his feeding instructions."

"When will you be back?"

"When I come back," he answered with a smirk before starting his bike. Norah growled in frustration. The vagueness was annoying.

"Are you going to kill people?!" she called over his loud bike.

"Bye, Norah!" he called back. Whether he heard her or not, she wasn't sure. He was soon gone, and she was left alone wondering if he was actually going to come home again. The feeling in her gut made her nervous.

Rose

She hung up the phone after talking with Oscar, relieved that he was in one piece and that her eccentric father hadn't gotten him into anything he wasn't supposed to. At least he didn't tell her son Lobster Man stories. She looked over at Norah after thinking this, knowing her sister enjoyed scaring the daylights out of Oscar with those ridiculous stories.

"I didn't do it," Norah said without looking at her. She was reading the paper.

"I didn't say anything," Rose insisted.

"You were thinking that I had somehow done something."

"I wasn't..."

"So, what do you want to do today?" Norah asked abruptly, changing the subject.

"I'm only here until three," Rose answered. "Then I'm flying back home."

"You came here just to tell me you were pregnant?" Norah asked, incredulous. "You could have told me over the phone..."

"I felt it was more of an in-person type of news," Rose said back.

"I see."

"What are you really doing here?" Rose asked, unable to help herself anymore.

"And there it is," Norah sighed, putting the paper down and resting her arms on the table.

"What? You just picked up and left, and then you land here and decide to stay? I don't get it. I really don't get living with some guy you don't even know."

"How about you don't criticize me for what I'm doing," Norah said, giving Rose's belly an obvious look.

"I'm just worried about you," Rose insisted, sitting down beside her now.

"You don't have to worry about me anymore," Norah said back strongly. "We had this conversation already. You don't have to take care of me anymore. I'm doing this, and I'm happy."

Rose surveyed her sister carefully, but it appeared that Norah was being honest. She put an arm around her fondly, ruffling her hair. Norah protested and pushed her off, but Rose appreciated how normal it all felt. She needed normalcy right now. She didn't want to think about Mac or his pregnant wife or anything. She wanted to look ahead and feel good about what was coming down the line for her. She didn't exactly feel the greatest about Norah living here with a strange man, but it was her life after all. Rose could only do and say so much.

Then Rupert came over to her, and she spent the next while petting and loving him up. It made her feel happy.

Gunner

He sat there rocking back and forth with the motion of the plane, watching his friends and colleagues talk and laugh while they loaded their guns and sharpened their knives. He resisted opening his flask and drinking. He needed to be sober for a mission. The voice in his head was starting to get loud, though. His fingers twitched. He needed to shoot something and soon. He needed to shoot at the demons that were always chasing him. It helped when there were bad guys to shoot. He pretended he was killing someone else every time.

"Has my sister talked to you at all today?" Toll asked him suddenly.

"No," Gunner answered. It was true. They hadn't texted, and she had left him last night to meet her friend.

"She'll come around," Yang advised.

"If I know anything about women, it's to give them their space without you in it," Caesar chimed in. "I've had many times where I've invaded Char's space without realizing she wanted the space, and it never ended well."

"You do take up lot of space," Yang noted with a smirk.

"Ha, ha," Caesar said sarcastically. Gunner smiled. It was nice not to be mocked for his height sometimes, to have someone else get picked on for it. He looked to see Lee grabbing a cigar for Barney. He caught the Brit's eye, and he saw something there. It took him by surprise. What did Lee have to be afraid of?

Lee didn't keep the eye contact and went back to his seat. Gunner went back to resting his head against the side of the plane, trying to get some sleep.

Lee

He sat there spinning his knife in his fingers slowly, rhythmically. Barney puffed on his cigar between his teeth as he flew the plane. He was thinking about his past. He was thinking about how long he'd have before he was discovered and attacked. He just knew it was coming.

"You're abnormally quiet today," Barney noted.

"Nothing to say."

"You? Speechless? Pfft," Barney snorted. "A monkey could win the silence game over you."

"Why do you say shit like that?" Lee asked, annoyed.

"To get you talking," Barney replied. He grinned around his cigar as Lee shot him a death look.

"It's nothing," Lee said, deciding not to engage in the childishness of what Barney was trying to do.

"Oh, it's something. Is it Norah?"

"No," Lee answered quickly. Too quickly. Barney raised a brow, looking at him sideways. He didn't have to say anything. The look said it all.

"You too, huh?" Barney asked. This surprised him a little.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it would seem she's captured Toll and Gunner's attention too," Barney said with a shrug. "There must be something about her that's got you three riled up."

"I'm not riled up," Lee said irritably.

"Sure," Barney replied with his annoying smirk. Lee looked away from him. Did Toll and Gunner both like Norah? He'd never paid attention. Would that be the reason Toll had just shown up at his work the other day? Why he got her a job with Dino? He shifted slightly. It didn't matter. He didn't like Norah that way. He tried to get comfortable, maybe get some sleep.

He couldn't stop seeing her blue eyes every time he closed his.

Yang

He stayed quiet and kept to himself. He didn't talk much because he didn't feel like it. He was always thinking, always remembering. Some days it hurt so bad, and other days it hurt less. Today was an okay day.

"You doing alright, Yang?" Toll asked him now. Caesar and Gunner were sharpening their knives on the other side of the plane.

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"All right, man. You know I'm here if you ever wanna talk," Toll offered. "Lord knows I've bent your ear a lot over the years." Yang smiled back at him and gave a nod. He knew he could trust Toll. He just didn't want to share his story with anyone yet. He didn't know if he ever would. Some pain he felt should be carried alone.

Oscar & Joe

"There's another one!" Oscar said eagerly, his binoculars pressed hard against his face. Joe was writing down what birds they saw and how many. It made for a good bonding afternoon. He chuckled as his grandson swept the skies back and forth, searching. Marcy used to do the same thing.

Thinking about her took the wind out of him most times. He saw a lot of her in Oscar, and sometimes it was hard to be around the boy when he didn't want to be reminded of his late wife.

"Mom's coming home today, right?" Oscar asked. He didn't know why his mother had just up and left to visit Aunt Norah. He noticed she seemed distracted and stressed the last couple of days. He hoped she was all right.

"Yes, she is," Joe confirmed. He hoped Rose was getting whatever support she'd gone looking for from Norah.

"Can we have tacos for dinner?" Oscar asked. It never ceased to amaze Joe how the boy's brain flitted back and forth between things.

"Why not?" he said with a smile. He missed those days, the ones where you played and the only concern you felt was if you had something to eat or not. He'd give anything to get back to those days sometimes.

Caesar

He thought about his daughter, Sasha, as he sat in the plane and they began to descend. She had clung to his leg before he left, looking up at him with those big brown eyes. He couldn't shake the sad look she'd given him. Will had been a bit indifferent to his leaving again. Char had wished him luck. He knew he would need it. It sounded like things could get hairy on this mission. He did not want to think about what his family would do if he died, but it still sometimes popped into his brain. He didn't like it.

He looked over at Yang, who was watching him. Sometimes he wondered what that man was thinking. He wanted to ask, but Yang kept pretty closed off to them all. Gunner was second in that department, even though they all knew he had a drinking and drug problem off and on. Caesar and Toll were pretty open about their business. Lee was open with Barney mostly. Barney himself was pretty quiet, but Caesar sensed there was more under the surface.

"Okay, boys," Barney said as they hit the tarmac. "It's go time."

Caesar pulled out the medallion Char had given him as a lucky token. He kissed it and tucked it back under his shirt. Barney had his lucky ring; Caesar had his medallion. To each their own, so long as they worked.

Norah

It was a good day with her sister. Norah was a bit sad to see her leave, and she noticed Rose looked a bit small as she stood in the airport and said goodbye.

"This is silly," Rose said, laughing a little through her sudden tears. "You're not that far away, and it's not like I'm never seeing you again."

"Well, I'm farther away than usual," Norah reminded her. "I don't live in Dad's basement anymore. How is living with our father, anyway?"

"It's great. Built in babysitter," Rose answered with a smile, giving Norah a playful nudge. Then her face grew serious. "Please be careful, Norah."

"I will."

They hugged again, and Rose picked up her bag as her flight was called. She gave a wave over her shoulder, and Norah waved back. When Rose was gone, she stood there watching the flow of people coming and going until she turned and walked out to her car.

She drove home and stood on the porch for a moment before deciding to go for a walk. She headed towards the trail she'd seen before and stuck her hands in her jacket pockets as she walked. She came to a clearing and found a small lake, and she smiled. It was like a private hideaway. She found a rock that jutted out a bit, and she sat down cross-legged on it. She breathed in deeply, slowly, and exhaled. She looked out at the water and wondered if Lee came here. Did he sit on this same rock? She tried not to think about him and where he was. She didn't want to say she missed him, but she did feel strange being there without him.

She kept thinking about Rose questioning what she was doing. She had no idea what was pulling her to stay here, but it was. She wasn't ready to leave. She didn't know if she ever would. She couldn't tell Rose that, though. It would have upset her, and she didn't want Rose to be upset with any other stuff right now. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to meditate and failing. She wondered how many days of being alone she had ahead of her.

Tool

He wasn't at all surprised to see Norah find her way to his parlor later that evening. He'd expected her to come sooner, if he was honest. Victoria had already come and gone. They'd shared their worries about the team being away. Tool knew that Toll had no idea how much his sister worried about him when he was gone. She put on a tough face for him, but inside she fretted like a mother hen. Tool fretted at times too, especially after they returned with tales of close calls and battle scars. He sometimes wondered why he stayed in this game, giving them jobs that could potentially kill them. He felt he should encourage them to either retire or take menial, safe jobs instead, but he knew all about how being in this life made you prone to staying in it because you don't know how to do anything else. He just knew that one day, he'd feel responsible if one of the missions he gathered for them cost them their lives.

"There she is," Tool said, looking up at Norah and smiling. "How are you?"

"Restless," Norah answered, falling down onto the empty chair across from him.

"Really? I thought you'd love to have the house to yourself," Tool commented.

"I've never really been alone before," Norah admitted. "It's not something I've done. I hung around the nest longer than I was supposed to."

"Tell me about your father," Tool said, leaning back in his chair. She smiled.

"He's eccentric," she told him. "Ever since Mum died, he's spent a lot of time distracting himself from it. That means he gets into these deals or into these ideas that make perfect sense to him but leave us feeling unsure of his sanity. Like recently, he bought all this shrimp and stored it in his bathtub thinking he was going to sell it to restaurants. It didn't work out."

"What did he do with the shrimp?"

"I have no idea, nor do I want to know," Norah answered, wrinkling her nose.

"You said your mother died?"

"She did. I...I don't want to talk about it right now, though."

"That's fine."

"What about you?" Norah asked, getting comfortable in the chair now. "What's your story?" Tool laughed out loud.

"Oh, darlin'," he chuckled. "My story is way too complicated for those delicate ears of yours."

"I'm not delicate," Norah said indignantly.

"I mean they're innocent," he corrected. "You don't want to know the things I've seen and done."

"Are you military too? Are all of these men military?" Norah asked. "Did Lee leave with all of them?"

"That, my dear, is not something I can discuss," Tool replied.

"Oh, come on!" Norah exclaimed. "I'm not stupid. Are they spies or something?" Tool roared with laughter now, wiping at his eyes as tears slid out from all the laughing. She crossed her arms and shot him a look.

"I'd pay to see Barney be a spy," Tool said once he'd calmed down a little. "With the bomb pen or the laser watch and all that shit. Ha ha!" He burst into more chuckles.

"Is it like a Robin Hood kind of deal they've got going on then?"

"Robin Hood!" Tool barked with laughter. "Could you see all of them in those tights? Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo! La, la, la!" He imitated tiptoeing around like a ballet dancer. "Bahahaha! Oh, my sides!" He was holding himself as he laughed. Norah felt herself starting to laugh as well, even though she didn't want to. His laugh was contagious.

"Just tell me!" she cried, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, dear," Tool said, wiping at his eyes again. "Oh, goodness me. Wow. Ahem." He cleared his throat a bit more. "I'm sorry, Norah. I still can't share with you what those boys do on their work time."

Norah growled in frustration but dropped it for now. She'd press Lee further when he got home. Tool offered her a beer, and she accepted. She didn't want to be home alone anyway. Tool was good company when he wasn't teasing her. She still wanted to know what his story was, and she was determined to find out.

Barney & Lee

"You got this?" Barney murmured. Lee gave him an incredulous look.

"Do I have this? What kind of question is that?" Lee asked. "Please." He gave a snort. They were walking down the hall upstairs, heading for their target's office. They needed his hard drive. It had important information on it. Whatever it was, Barney didn't share, and Lee didn't want to know.

He sent his knife flying, trying to keep his mind on the task at hand and not on whether or not Norah had burned down his house yet.

Toll

He grabbed the back of Caesar's vest and yanked him backwards just as the bullet came whizzing past the end of Caesar's nose. The big man got his bearings and clutched at his chest.

"You good?" Toll asked him.

"Yea," Caesar answered. They continued moving forward, rifles out in front. Toll felt Caesar tap his shoulder after they paused for a sweep, and they kept walking. Targets popped up, and they moved to take them out. It was like a choreographed dance. They eventually met up with Yang and Gunner again. Barney and Lee were elsewhere doing the other half of the mission.

"You okay?" Toll asked Gunner, seeing the blood on his face.

"Yea," Gunner answered.

"Hulk smashed head off door jam," Yang offered, smirking. Gunner shot him a glare. They all looked up when shouts and bullets sounded above them. Barney and Lee were running side by side as fast as they could. Then Lee jumped on the banister of the stairs and slid down it on his rear while Barney ran down the steps, almost tripping halfway down.

"Time to go," Caesar commented, and they all hurried for the exit.

"Go, go, go!" Barney was shouting as he jumped off the stairs with two steps remaining. Lee had hit the ground running after sliding off the end of the banister. A bullet struck him in the back of his leg, and he exclaimed as he went down. Toll shot the man who did it, killing him, while Gunner and Caesar picked Lee up by the back of his vest and half carried, half dragged him out between them.

"Son of a bitch," Lee kept saying as he aimed and fired ahead of them as they went. Toll and Yang covered behind them as they moved together as a unit. Barney was in the lead. They reached their army truck and Barney jumped into the driver's seat with Yang going for the passenger seat. Gunner basically picked up Lee by the scruff almost and chucked him into the back, making him land on his back hard and gasp from the pain. Gunner launched himself in next with Caesar and Toll not far behind. Toll then grabbed the medical kit while Caesar ripped off Lee's pant leg to give him access to the wound.

"Shit," Lee panted. He banged his head against the side of the truck when it jerked to the left. Barney was driving like a madman, so it was making this job a lot harder than it needed to be. Toll was doing his best to brace himself and stop from flying into Lee and squashing him while dealing with the wound properly without making it worse.

"Almost there," Toll said, pulling out the bullet. He poured antiseptic on the wound while Caesar prepped the gauze and wrap.

"Did you get it?" Gunner asked. Lee shot him a look.

"No, we just played some poker and got them pissed at us for taking their money," he retorted.

"That's a yes, then," Gunner reasoned. Lee rolled his eyes.

"Ah!" he yelped when Toll slapped the gauze on a little roughly due to the truck bouncing.

"Do you really need to drive like you stole it?" Caesar asked through comms.

"No, but I am driving it like we're being shot at," Barney replied. "You wanna help with that or what? You taking a nap back there? Shoot somethin'!"

"I told you I do more work!" Yang's voice shouted. Caesar lifted the cover and saw two trucks chasing them, bullets flying.

"Damn," he said. "Where did they come from?!"

"Just shoot 'em!" Barney shouted back. Caesar and Gunner moved into position and fired at the trucks behind them. Toll wrapped Lee's leg up tightly and gave it a light pat.

"Good as new," he said.

"Thanks," Lee replied, giving him a nod and a tight smile. Then Barney jerked the truck to the left hard again, and they all went flying. Before long, they were rolling. The four men did their best not to crush one another or maim each other with their weapons as they banged about until the truck finally stopped. Toll raised his head to see his brothers unmoving, and he felt panic. Then he could hear shouting and footsteps outside, and he managed to turn his head towards the back of the truck.

He had a very sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to make it home.

Victoria

She felt the pain hit her ribs hard and fast, and she gasped, dropping the fork in her hand with a clatter. She gripped her sides, hardly able to breathe.

"Nick," she whispered. Nick was in trouble. She could always feel when he was hurt, just like he could feel her hurt. It was that twin thing everyone always talked about. It did exist. She tried to stand but felt the pain even more.

"Oh, God, Nick," she moaned. "What's wrong?! Where are you?" Of course, he wouldn't answer, but she felt like she could close her eyes and almost picture where he was. She did it a lot, especially when she used to use drugs and drink. She'd picture him sitting across from her with that look, and sometimes it worked and other times it made her angry and use even more.

She called Tool. She couldn't do this alone.

"What's wrong, Vic?" Tool asked, answering.

"Nick's hurt," she gasped.

"Where?"

"Ribs. Sides. Head," she answered. "It...it feels bad."

"Just hang in there," Tool instructed. "I'll reach out to Barney. I'm sure they're all right."

"I don't think so," Victoria disagreed. "Something is really wrong, Pops." She called him that because she missed having a father figure in her life, and it sounded better than Tool. He never complained. She knew he enjoyed it.

"I'll call, love," he promised. "Just sit tight."

"Okay."

He hung up, and Victoria was left with the pain, feeling very fearful that she was never going to see her brother again.